


Not in the Least

by queencuppycake



Series: Kuroo Tetsurou [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 00:46:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3468110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queencuppycake/pseuds/queencuppycake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader</p>
<p>Being Nekoma's manager sure isn't always easy - especially when there's a certain black-haired captain whose intentions you can't quite figure out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shoucheeky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoucheeky/gifts).



> This is a four part short/mini story for my wonderful, lovely friend Mary. I hope you have a merry Christmas and enjoy your little present, sweetie.
> 
> A huge thanks to Lyn for going over the story, even though she was super busy herself!!

“Ready to head home, little lamb?”

You almost drop your phone when a voice sounds so close to your ear you can feel the culprit’s breath tickle the sensitive skin there. Instinctively, you take a step back while you press the phone against your chest, feeling the rapid beat of your heart pounding all the way up into your throat.

The person in front of you chuckles lightly as he closes the distance between you two, his lips sporting a wide grin and his eyes shining with amusement. He puts a hand to the small of your back and gives you a gentle push forward, not bothered in the least that you haven’t even answered his question yet.

When you finally regain your composure, you shove his hand, which is still ghosting over your lower back, away and throw him a dark look. He returns it with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

You still can’t believe you hadn’t heard Kuroo approach, and it somehow…frightens you. Frightens and angers you. By now, you should know better than to let down your guard when he’s around. So when you open your mouth, the words that escape you sound harsher than intended.

“You don’t have to walk me home all the time. I’m a big girl. And I told you to drop that silly nickname!”

Despite your fervent wish not to, your cheeks heat up immediately. You feel his curious gaze on you, but keep your eyes averted.

“Hmm? It’s impossible let you walk home all alone in the dark. There are a lot of wolves lurking in the shadows, just waiting for a lamb like you to cross their path~” He says, ending his sentence on another chuckle. This time it sounds darker, almost predatory.

You feel the blush on your cheeks darken, but at the same time, a cold shiver runs down your spine. When you peek over at him, a matching grin has taken over his face that only widens when he catches you staring at him. Quickly, you look away again, fixing your gaze on the ground in front of you. Once more, your heart starts beating fiercely. This time for completely different reasons.

Just how did you get into this mess?

Oh right. It had been _your own_ damn fault.

**

It was an utter understatement to say you were nervous when you first walked the hallways of Nekoma high school. Frankly, you almost peed your pants. You were clutching your schedule in your hands, holding onto it as though your life depended on it. It was never a pleasant experience to transfer to a new school – especially not in the middle of the school year, and even less so when you had lived in the country all your life and suddenly found yourself walking through a city with skyscrapers stretching far towards the heavens and billboards so large and flashy your eyes hurt just thinking about them. It didn’t help either that you weren’t exactly the most outgoing person, and that it had taken you a long time to build friendships with the handful of people back home. Not that it bothered you that you didn’t have a wide circle of acquaintances and friends, but even that handful was now out of reach. There was no one to hold your hand or whisper words of encouragement to you any longer. And you had no idea how you _should_ go about making new friends when the moment you felt someone’s gaze on you, you automatically averted your eyes, too shy at even the prospect of talking to them.

It was the first day after summer break and although the sun was shining down on Tokyo relentlessly, you were sure the little droplets of sweat on your forehead were not only due to the humid heat you found yourself walking through.

You kept your eyes on the ground, trying your best to avoid the curious stares and hushed whispers surrounding you as you made your way through the throng of students on the floor of the first year classrooms, who were hanging around in front of their classrooms with their friends before homeroom started. Yeah, you were a new face so it didn’t come as a surprise to you that you found yourself in the center of attention. But it didn’t mean that you liked it.

When you finally reached your destination, you let out a small sigh of relief…just to almost choke on air when you suddenly inhaled sharply, the realization that the ordeal was far from over yet dawning on you. You might have mastered the walk _to_ your classroom, but you still had to step _inside_ it. Your grip on the sheet of paper in your hands tightened as you pressed your back against the wall. Maybe you should just wait for the teacher. You’d have to introduce yourself to the class anyway, so wouldn’t it be better if you just stayed right here instead of walking inside, most likely ending up sitting on the wrong seat anyway, and – worst of all – having to move all your belongings elsewhere _and_ coming up to the front to stutter out a few words just a few minutes later?

Thoughts were whizzing through your head so fast that you could hardly keep track of them, much less of your surroundings. So when you were in the process of pushing yourself off the wall for a third time, determined to just walk inside and get it over with (which had ended with you backing up again as a new wave of nervousness surged through you the first two times) you didn’t see the figure making their way in your direction and stumbled right inside their arms, your face crashing into a toned chest.

“Oof!”

Intuitively, hands gripped your shoulders to steady you. When you looked up, a pair of large brown eyes were looking down at you. There was a short moment of silence, but when you heard a giggle somewhere in the background, you came to your senses again.

“I-I’m so mistake,” you shouted as your cheeks flared up.

Another fit of snickers resounded, and when the boy in front of you cocked his head, a smile that looked somewhere between friendly and confused appearing on his face, the realization of the nonsense you had just stuttered hit you like a slap in the face. You had meant to say ‘I’m so sorry’, but in the very last moment decided to switch to ‘My mistake’, resulting in a strange mix of both sentences. You almost groaned out loud. This wasn’t the first time it had happened to you and you knew it would be only a matter of time until your nerves got the better of you, but did it have to be so _soon_?

“Are you alright? I’m sorry I bumped into you like this. You didn’t hurt your head at the impact, did you?” His voice sounded genuinely concerned, and his smile now looked rather apologetically.

He let go of your arms and for a moment, you had serious trouble standing on your own, because your legs positively felt like noodles. You put one of your hands on the wall as you shook your head vehemently.

“No, I’m good! Fine! Perfect!” You reply.

The boy in front of you sighed with relief and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m glad to hear that! Where were you headed to? You seemed to be in a rush… Oh! By the way, I’m Inuoka. Inuoka Sou. Are you new around here? I haven’t seen you before.”

You blinked up at Inuoka, trying to follow his rapidly spoken words and answering one answer at a time. You gave him your name and your class, explaining that you had moved here just a few weeks before and that today was your first day at Nekoma high.

“Wow, really? Awesome, that means we’re in the same class! Welcome to Tokyo!! Have you already decided which club you’re going to join? _Are_ you gonna join a club? I could help you choose one if you want to. I’m middle blocker of our school’s volleyball team…” He rambled on as he guided you inside the classroom, blocking an imaginary ball and grinning down at you with the most contagious smile you had ever seen, completely mesmerizing you with his enthusiasm so that you even forgot to be embarrassed about the whole ordeal earlier.

You weren’t exactly the most extroverted person and you had always had a hard time making new friends, which was why it surprised you how easy it was for you to get along with Inuoka. He kept the conversation going without any effort and he kept chatting to you until homeroom started and during the breaks. Slowly, you found yourself relaxing around him, but at the same time, you failed to realize that you were getting carried away. You listened to him going on and on about volleyball, his eyes shining bright with excitement and his lips once more wearing this grin it was impossible not to return. You practically hung on his every word, completely taken in by his passion for the sport and for his team, so that when he suddenly suggested you become Nekoma’s manager, you – still stunned by his liveliness – blurted out without thinking: “Sure!”

And that was the moment your fate was sealed.


	2. Chapter 2

If your knees had felt like noodles earlier that day, they felt like jelly in the afternoon when you walked alongside an elated Inuoka towards the gym in which Nekoma’s volleyball team practiced. He was still chatting away happily, but it was hard to focus on a single word he said now that you were walking towards your doom – at least that’s how it felt. You had no idea how you’d be able to handle being around a _horde_ of teenage boys running around in sweat-drenched shirts that clung to their muscular torsos and being surrounded by strong, defined calves (your secret weakness!) every day. Just the thought made you dizzy and several times you found yourself bending your knees slightly and pulling in your arms as though you’d break out into a sprint every minute.

But you knew there was no use in running. You had agreed to become the manager of Nekoma’s volleyball team and all that separated you from being officially called by that title was the application form – which you were now holding in your trembling hands instead of your schedule.

When Inuoka pushed open the doors to the gym you felt as though the doors to a whole different world were opened.

The trembling of your hands intensified, slowly but surely spreading throughout your whole body, and your heart was beating so fiercely against your ribcage you were sure it’d jump out of your chest at any moment. You had a few moments to take in the scene in front of you: a group of boys wearing shorts and casual shirts was bustling about the training court, setting up the equipment for practice and shouting things at each other you were unable to make out as the blood rushing in your ears muffled every sound. You could tell that the atmosphere was lax and good-spirited, yet you felt as though you had just entered the danger zone.

And the feeling remained – no, it intensified – as Inuoka called out to his teammates and all of a sudden, every pair of eyes in the gym was focused on you.

Your eyes widened drastically, as the pack started in your direction and a jumble of voices reached your ears in a matter of milliseconds.

“What is such a cute girl doing here? Don’t tell me you’re Inuoka’s girlfriend! The lucky bastard!”

“What’s your name?”

“Did you come to watch practice?”

You were unable to answer even a single question as you soon found yourself in their midst, your eyes darting from one excited face to the other, as they kept on firing questions at you. Once more, you were the center of attention and completely unable to handle this situation. Your knees almost buckled underneath you.

“That’s enough! Can’t you see you’re scaring the poor girl?!” A voice boomed, effectively silencing the group surrounding you. You looked up…and then slightly lowered your gaze until your big, desperate eyes found those of the person who had spoken up for you. Judging from the distance between the two of you, he seemed to be a couple centimeters shorter than you, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in presence. His legs were slightly apart and he had propped his arms on his hips. His gaze was unwavering and confident and he had this odd aura of a scolding mother surrounding him.

He shook his head and stalked over to you, pushing the guys away from you, who had inched so close that you could feel the heat radiating off their skin. He sent them a last reprimanding look before he turned his attention towards you.

“I’m sorry for their behavior. We’re not using to having girls around, so they got a little…carried away,” he said and scratched his cheek, before continuing: “I’m Yaku Morisuke. And you are…?”

Still too overwhelmed from the uproar your appearance had caused, your eyes flickered towards Inuoka, as if asking him for a helping hand. And sure enough, he took a step forwards and in his usual buoyant way beamed: “Everyone, this is (last name) (first name), she’s gonna be our new manager!”

The moment the word _manager_ rolled from his lips, an all-new commotion broke out. Whoops of joy echoed through the gym, gasps of disbelief reverberated off the walls and you could have sworn you even heard a choked sob somewhere in between. There were so many noises, and so many hands patting your head and back that it made your head spin. Trying to find a spot you could at least fix your strained eyes on, your gaze briefly met that of a boy wearing a blonde mohawk, who was staring at you with an almost awkward intensity while tears were pouring down his cheeks. Quickly, your eyes darted to the ground again.

Yaku’s renewed attempts at silencing the bunch a second time failed miserably – they simply were too ecstatic at the prospect of finally getting a female manager after “years of waiting, now my prayers have finally been heard!”

The wild buzz was only brought to a stop when their coaches, Nekomata Yasafumi and Naoi Manabu, entered the gym and demanded to know what all the fuss was about (and just why in hell they weren’t setting up the equipment). The situation was explained to them by Yaku and a boy with a buzzcut and when they finally spied your miserable form, which bore striking resemblance to a timid fawn, coach Naoi’s sour mien softened, while the smile coach Nekomata had been sporting all along grew sincerely delighted.

“Don’t you have any decency?” Coach Naoi snapped in the direction of the members still brimming with excitement and standing way too close for comfort, and clucked his tongue as he walked over to you, shooing the lot out of his way as he did so. With a large smile on his face and thanking you for your interest in Nekoma’s volleyball team, he took the application form from you.

You bowed stiffly in reply, unable to croak out even a strangled ‘thank you’ or ‘you’re welcome’, your hands suddenly feeling uncomfortably empty. You quickly grasped the hem of your shirt, needing something, _anything_ to hold on to. Your gaze was glued to the ground and you were painfully aware of how hot your cheeks were. This really was it. No turning back.

Someone cleared their throat and called your last name and when you slowly lifted your eyes, the boy wearing a buzzcut had moved in front of you. He kept his distance, making sure to not cause you any more discomfort and you found yourself able to manage a small smile at his consideration – and acceptance of something called _personal space_.

He was still in the process of introducing himself as the vice-captain of the team, Kai Nobuyuki, and extending a warm welcome to you, when he was interrupted by a voice from behind you.

“Hmm? Isn’t that my job as the team’s captain?”

“You’re late, Kuroo,” Kai commented and his gaze shifted from your face to that of the voice’s owner.

Following his eyes, you spun around, spotting two more guys entering the gym. One of them was meeting your gaze for just the fraction of a moment, before he looked away again and pushed a streak of his longish blonde hair behind his ears.

The one who had spoken, however, was staring straight at you. He was _huge_ , especially with his jet-black, untamed hair sticking up like the comb of a rooster. But that wasn’t what unsettled you the most about his appearance. It was the grin on his lips that unwittingly made you hold your breath. In stark contrast to his somewhat rowdy appearance it was friendly, there was no doubt about it, but it was almost…alarmingly so. There was just something about it you couldn’t quite put a finger on. Then again, maybe it was just your nerves getting the better of you.

He bridged the distance between the two of you with a few long strides, and with each step he took, your eyes slightly widened – as did his smile. When he came to a halt in front of you and you blinked up at him, you felt your heartbeat accelerate. The breath you had been holding in escaped your mouth in a strange little whizzing sound.

“Thank you for deciding to join Nekoma’s volleyball team. We’re looking forward to working with you. In the name of the team, I welcome you.”

You were slightly taken aback at how his whole demeanor seemed to change as he spoke the words and suddenly there was a whole new air surrounding him – one of authority.

And you weren’t the only one who was aware of the change in him, because a moment later, he nodded in the direction of his teammates and they all shouted out their greetings in perfect unison.

Immediately, your whole body stiffened once more and in a voice that was louder than intended you yelled: “A-ah, I’m welcome to it, too!”

… and felt the sudden urge to bang your head against the wall. Hard. You had done it again. You had started to say ‘I’m looking forward to it, too’, but in your head you had already prepared the next sentence you wanted to utter – ‘You’re welcome’ – turning it into one of your bizarre wordings. You hadn’t thought it possible, but your cheeks felt even hotter.

Nekoma’s players exchanged curious glances among each other until Yaku finally, in a voice that sounded just as confused as his expression looked, uttered: “Ehm… yes. Yes you are very welcome to our club.”

Gripping the hem of your shirt tighter, you were sending silent prayers skywards that the ground beneath your feet might magically disappear and devour you entirely to get you out of this embarrassing situation. Sadly, nothing of the like happened, but instead you swallowed hard and fervently nibbled on the inside of your lower lip while trying your best to avoid their questioning gazes.

And finally coach Naoi ended that awkward moment as he clapped his hands to rouse everyone back into motion, yelling directions at Nekoma’s players, who more or less immediately started pouring out on the court once more, some of them trying to stay back just a little while longer, but faltering under their coach’s gaze and eventually leaving your side with one last longing gaze.

You sighed in relief and started wiping your damp palms on the fabric of your skirt as inconspicuously as possible, happy you were finally no longer in the spotlight. Your relief was short-lived however, as Kuroo walked by you, slowing down for just a moment to lock his eyes with yours.

With a dark smile playing on his features, he said: “Welcome to the lion’s den, little lamb~”


	3. Chapter 3

The world around you shifts back into focus when you feel a hand bumping against yours.

You softly sway your head as if shaking off the last vestiges of memory and turn towards Kuroo, who is observing you with attentive eyes. He seems to be looking right through you, as though he knows exactly what has been on your mind – or rather _who_ has been on your mind.

You incline your head as you bury your hands in the pockets of your school uniform’s blazer. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of noticing the slight tremble of your fingers his touch had caused, although you know he most likely already has taken notice of it, judging by the smug expression that’s chiseled on his features.

“It’s gotten really cold outside, hasn’t it?” He eventually breaks the silence between you two, as he stretches his arms far above his head and inhales deeply.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to…” He begins and from the corner of your eyes you see him moving in until he’s walking so close to you that your shoulders almost touch, “…stick together closely during this time of the year?”

In a matter of seconds, your face seems to be ablaze. There he goes again with his…his…yes, his _what_ exactly?

Whenever he makes these kinds of comments, or acts in such a suggestive manner, you find yourself wondering just what exactly he’s trying to do. Why he’s acting the way he is. Is he flirting with you or is he merely teasing you in a…friendly way? Since you hardly see him interact with anyone else than his teammates – and therefore especially not with other girls – you can’t tell if it’s something he does for the fun of it, or if he does it, because he’s with _you_. And so you can’t help but wonder if there’s any meaning behind his actions, if he is _seriously_ making advances at you or if he’s just kidding around without any ulterior motives.

Frankly, it’s unnerving. And it’s moments like these that make you realize you don’t understand him – or your whole relationship, for that matter – at all. What are you to him? Someone interesting enough to go out of his way and walk home every day? The cute underclassman who’s easy to tease, because she’s socially awkward? Or just a pitiful girl who needs constant protection?

You don’t know, but you so desperately want to. All of this just gets to you – all this teasing, all these hints that could mean anything or nothing at all, all this uncertainty and unanswered questions. All these emotions. They have you so confused and frustrated that you sometimes simply don’t know what to do about them or where to direct them. And then you end up getting unreasonably irritated in his presence, or even more nervous than you already are. But at the same time, you can’t bring yourself to just ask him what these actions of his mean. No, there’s simply no way you can do that! It would be way too embarrassing. And furthermore, what if he made it clear he’s just kidding around and you really are nothing more to him than just a…friend? What would it mean – both for the relationship of you two and for the relationship with the rest of the team? It’d be impossible for you to be around them any longer as you’d be too ashamed and heartbroken to spend just one more minute in the same room as Kuroo.

You just barely manage to stifle the sigh of frustration that threatens to escape your lips.

You don’t have to look up at him to know he’s still studying you. You can tell from the way goosebumps cover your skin, your breathing is labored and your mouth feels dry. But even though his presence elicits all these nervous reactions and confusing emotions from you, you still feel oddly safe around him. Protected.

Well, to be fair, it’s not like he has ever given you the feeling of not _caring_ about you. On the contrary, he has proven more than once that you can rely on him.

You still very vividly remember that one time two of your classmates had started talking to you while you were getting ready to head out of class and have lunch with Kuroo and Kenma. At first, you had been genuinely happy they had approached you, because while time seemed to fly by as you spent your days going about a manager’s duties and you quickly felt yourself growing closer to the team – to the point where they almost seemed like extended family – spending most of your time with the boys had its downsides, too, as you had slowly come to realize. You hardly had time to make any other friends – especially some girlfriends you were _desperate_ to make when you were constantly surrounded by so much testosterone – and most of them had just barely become distant acquaintances, who greeted you when you passed each other in the hallways. The same held true for your classmates. Apart from Inuoka there was no one you hung out with or talked to on a regular basis.

You were already contemplating sending Kuroo a text excusing you so you could spend lunch break with your classmates, when you had realized something was…off. They were breaching topics you’d rather not talk about with people you had just met. With each passing moment your face grew a darker shade of red and your words became more jumbled, _their_ faces seemed to shine brighter with amusement and their smiles widened to the point they seemed to be sneering. It had taken you some time, but you eventually became aware of the fact that it was their intention to make you uncomfortable. When they had asked you if you “think the boys are touching themselves while thinking about you, considering they all seem to be so _excited_ to have a female manager” and the situation finally culminated in your little…habit of sputtering a word cluster that made absolutely no sense, you fully understood. They broke out into a cruel fit of laughter that made you cower in your seat, tears of embarrassment stinging your eyes and a thick lump constricting your throat. That’s when Kuroo had appeared in the doorframe, his eyebrows raised and lips curled into a lopsided smile. He had seemed friendly, almost unnervingly so, as he chimed that he had come to pick you up for lunch and thanked your classmates for making sure you were enjoying yourself while waiting for him. Although his friendly tone had not once wavered, there was something unmistakably provoking, almost threatening, in the words he directed at the two figures loitering around at your desk. Not once had they tried to make fun of you again.

But it isn’t only that he stands up for you in such delicate situations.

He had insisted on walking you home every day after training from your first day as manager onwards. Although spending all this time walking so close to – and being alone with – Kuroo had you admittedly nervous, it didn’t strike you as something particularly odd; you simply assumed he lived close by. After all, it just seemed like the most logical explanation. That was until you brought it up in a conversation with Inuoka one day and he almost spit out his juice. Asking him what was wrong, he explained: “It just surprised me since he lives in the complete opposite direction.”

When you had rather shyly breached the topic with Kuroo later that day, telling him he didn’t need to take you home every day as you knew how much of a detour it was for him, he had brushed it off with one of his unreadable smiles and a simple “don’t worry about it”. And even with no excuse to do so anymore, Kuroo still went out of his way and accompanied you every single day.

At first, you thought he was just being nice, because he thought it to be his duty as the captain to make sure you feel as comfortable and protected as possible as their newest – and only female – addition to the team. But over time you have also come to notice the way he always stands that little bit closer to you when you talk to other guys, or how he constantly reminds you that he’s “the only one who’s allowed to make fun of you, (first name)~” that make you wonder if maybe…maybe he does harbor feelings for you that are stronger than just a protective instinct. And you have also come to realize that this is what you want. That you want to be more to him. So much more.

A warm feeling spreads through your body, reaching all the way from your hairline to your little toes. Well, no matter how confused you are, you are sure that eventually everything will fall into place. And with Christmas right around the corner, you’d rather think about stuff like which cookies to bake, which sweater to wear when visiting your grandparents or which songs to add to your Christmas mix on the iPod than what some guy thinks about you.

You straighten your back and put on your best smile, suddenly feeling giddy at the sight of decorated window panes and the faint smell of oranges wafting through the air. You had been so lost in thought that you didn’t even realize you have already reached your neighborhood.

You retrieve your hands from your blazer’s pockets and give Kuroo’s sleeve a soft tug. His gaze shifts from your hand to your face and he cocks his head, apparently curious as to what you have to say.

“Thanks for walking me home. As usual.” You say, doing your best to ignore the blush that’s creeping onto your cheeks. You softly clear your throat, your eyes flickering towards your house, the roof of which you can already make out from where you are, and are about to say your goodbyes when…

“You’re not leaving me hanging like this, are you?” He asks, his voice sounding more like a demand than an actual question.

Looking up at him with quizzical eyes, you rack your brain, trying to find an answer for what he’s referring to. Kuroo lifts his eyebrows and when you still haven’t replied to him after several more moments, he sighs in mock exasperation.

“Just what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

He moves closer to you, lifting a hand and gently flicking your forehead, his hand lingering at one of your temples. His warm fingers leave a tingling sensation on your skin and your heart reacts to his touch by skipping a beat before breaking out into a full-blown sprint. Yet, you manage to hold your ground – and his gaze.

For a moment, he seems to be genuinely surprised that you don’t evade his touch or give a stronger reaction to his words, but soon enough he’s wearing his signature smile once more. He pulls back his hand to cross his arms behind his neck.

“We’re going to the Christmas party tomorrow night.” He doesn’t even try to make it sound like a question, but voices the words as a statement.

“Oh right, the party! Ehm, sure. Yeah. I was totally… yes. Absolutely.”

_Ugh!_ There you go again, blabbering like an idiot. And just when you had seemed so confident a minute ago. Ah well. Guess you can’t help it. That’s just how it is when you’re around Kuroo. Well, at least you’d get to spend Christmas Eve with the team. And him…not that it was one of your secret Christmas wishes or anything. Absolutely not.

You suddenly feel hot under your collar as your resolve to spend Christmas without thinking about him melts away.

And of course, Kuroo lets out a little chuckle, apparently delighted by your flustered reaction. He pats your head and coos: “Good girl~ We’ll meet up in front of the cherry tree at the entrance. See you tomorrow then.”

And with that, he saunters off in the direction of the closest train station.

You look at his retreating form for several moments, before suddenly turning around and breaking into a full sprint and running towards the safety of your house, while pressing your hands to your cheeks that feel so hot you hardly even notice the cold anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

You follow the throng of people through the gates of the school, hugging your own body in the meager attempt to protect you from the biting cold of the snowy night. You curse yourself for having decided in favor of the more fashionable – yet much thinner – coat on a whim before you headed out earlier. You can barely lift your gaze, because as soon as you do, tears begin to form in the corners of your eyes from the snowflakes relentlessly being blown in your face by the icy wind. So you more or less blindly stumble along in the general direction of the cherry tree you are supposed to meet up with the team before walking to the auditorium together, in which the annual Christmas party of Nekoma is held. You just hope you are the last one to arrive at the designated meeting spot, because you can hardly feel your hands anymore and are desperate to finally get some warmth back into them.

You almost knock over several people from keeping your eyes downward for most of the way, but for once in your life you don’t really care and keep walking on while mumbling half-hearted apologies. When you feel that you’re almost there you squint your eyes and lift your gaze. A wave of joy surges through you as you make out a well-known rooster comb not too far away, but just a moment later your heart sinks as you realize what that means. Letting out a string of curses under your breath, you hug your body tighter.

“Where are the others?” You fume when you finally arrive, not even bothering to greet Kuroo properly.

“What others?” He replies and despite your reluctance to have a new set of snowflakes blown into your eyes and nose, you look up.

After a moment of staring at him with a baffled expression, which he returns with a bright smile that’s almost too happy for your liking, you slowly say: “…didn’t you say _we_ 'll meet up here?”

“Isn’t that how it is?” His smile widens until it seems to be stretching from ear to ear, bearing a striking resemblance to the Cheshire Cat. He doesn’t look fazed in the least by your confused face that’s slowly turning into one of comprehension. You swear you can hear a faint _click_ in your head as you finally understand.

You swallow audibly and your eyes dart back to the floor, before croaking out a little: “…oh.”

And just like that, you’re nervous all over again. You feel heat rising to your cheeks, dipping them in a dark red color and your heartbeat soars into a frenzy. You hadn’t thought it possible, but now you’re actually glad about the weather as the tremble that now rocks your body is luckily overpowered by your shivering from the cold.

A vortex of emotions whirls in your mind and you have trouble grasping even a single straight thought. So, is this a date? If so, what does it mean? Does it mean what you think it does? Or is this just one of his schemes? And if it is, for what means?

You have no idea what you’re supposed to think and all these questions rushing through your head make it impossible for you to focus on the here and now.

You hardly even realize you’re making your way towards the building in which the auditorium is located with Kuroo at your side, so preoccupied are you with your own musings. Only when a wave of heat meets you and your whole body starts prickling unpleasantly from the sudden change in temperature do you snap out of your daze.

Slowly uncoiling your arms from around your body, you let Kuroo take off your coat to hand it in at the makeshift cloakroom in front of the auditorium. While you’re waiting for him to return to your side, you try to keep your agitation in check by peeking into the large room the party is held at. The chairs have been moved for the most part, and instead several of them now flank groups of dining tables close to the buffet. Students and teachers are bustling about, exchanging greetings and small talk and you can’t help but check the room for familiar faces. You spot Yamamoto and Lev at the buffet table, piling their plates with ridiculous amounts of food and just a short distance away from them, Fukunaga is listening to one of his classmates, nodding his head and taking part in the conversation in his usual wordless manner.

Just when you discover Inuoka and Shibayama at the other end of the room, close to the stage, Kuroo appears next to you and leads you inside on the elbow, reminding you why your legs still feel wobbly even after warming up with a mere smirk thrown in your direction.

However, despite your initial apprehension the evening goes surprisingly well. Apart from the occasional mishap or moment of awkwardness – such as sputtering “Many Christmas!” instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ to your homeroom teacher or breaking out in a hysterical laughing fit during a performance on stage (at a part which wasn’t supposed to be funny at all) – you actually have to admit that you’re having a really great time. And although you had been close to a nervous breakdown at the beginning of the night, being in the constant presence of Kuroo at some point almost…stopped making you nervous. It somehow made you feel safe – even though you were in a room full of people you hardly knew – and in a strange way more confident. When he is by your side, chatting with strangers and acquaintances doesn’t feel as frightening as before anymore. And what astonishes you most is when you become so engrossed in a conversation with one of his classmates that you don’t even realize Kuroo is getting you refills as you keep on talking animatedly.

When the night is slowly coming to an end, you feel giddy and light-hearted. If you hadn’t been so caught up in your good mood and the atmosphere, you would have noticed the nod Kuroo exchanged with a rather irritated-looking Kenma, but being as it is you expect nothing out of the ordinary (well, as far as the term can be applied to this for you anything but ordinary night) when Kenma tries to catch your attention with intense staring and slightly red cheeks and motions you over to where he’s standing with a small wave of his hand.

You excuse yourself from the rest of the team you had been chatting with until now and make you way towards him with a small skip in your step.

The moment you come to a halt in front of him, he quickly averts his eyes, the blush on his cheeks darkening, and he steps to the side, leaving you standing stranded in the doorway. You blink a few times in quick succession, surprised by his odd behavior, but when you call out and set yourself in motion to follow him, a strong hand suddenly wraps around your upper arm and a familiar voice whispers close to your ear: “Not so fast, little lamb~”

Goosebumps break out across your skin when Kuroo’s breath grazes the side of your neck and you whip around. He points to a spot above your heads and as you follow his finger, he coos in a voice that leaves no doubt to the fact he’s smirking: “You know what that means, don’t you?”

Right above the two of you, there’s a piece of mistletoe glued to the doorframe with scotch tape. Your breath hitches in your throat and in a matter of seconds, you’re actually feeling like a timid little lamb. You could have sworn – no! You _are_ sure – that it hadn’t been there when you had arrived. So does that mean…? Does that mean…?

You don’t dare even thinking out the question as you jerk your head downwards again in one swift motion. However, in your earlier moment of paralyzing shock you have failed to notice that Kuroo has shortened the distance between your bodies so that your forehead crashes into his chin with a loud _thud_.

Although the impact had been anything but gentle, you hardly feel any pain, but only the burning heat radiating off your whole face.

You are positive that this is the single most mortifying moment in your life.

You can see his chin gradually turning redder, but don’t dare to lift your gaze even an inch higher, and in your agitation you yell out: “Are you sorry?!”

…only to feel a new wave of embarrassment wash over you. Torn between saying ‘Are you okay’ and ‘I’m sorry’ you had once again messed up this whole talking like a normal person thing.

You bury your face in your hands, wishing to just vanish into thin air. You can’t believe that you have even managed to ruin your big moment with your clumsiness.

A soft chuckle reaches your ears before a pair of hands wraps around your wrists and pries your hands away from your flushed face. There’s a dangerous spark in Kuroo’s eyes that are focused on solely you and an impish smile is tugging at the corners of his lips. He lets go of your wrists to curl his arms around your waist and with one strong pull, you’re pressed so close to his body that you have to strain you neck to return his gaze. His face hovers above yours for just a moment as he utters: “Not in the least.”

He goes in for the kill and kisses you like there’s no tomorrow. His lips grind against yours relentlessly as he strengthens his hold on you. You comply instinctively, pressing your body forward until you’re flush against his toned chest, your hands gripping the fabric of his shirt, almost clinging to it.

Somewhere in the distance cat calls and disbelieving gasps can be heard, but they seem to be far, far away, like a part of a whole different world. All that matters right now is this moment. _Your_ moment. And you’d let nothing take it away from you.

At least that’s what you think before the angry voice of the vice-principal threatens to give you detention for the rest of the school year if you don’t put a stop to this insolence right now.

After getting a good telling-off, you find yourself back at the side of your boys as you’re filing out of the school building. _Your_ boys. Your gaze roams one face after the other as you’re listening to their excited chatter, before it finally lands on the boy standing next to you with his arm draped over your shoulder. And for the first time ever since you met him you realize that you don’t feel nervous anymore. Not around him. Not around the team. And not in a room full of people. Their trust in you has made you come out of your shell, it has helped you grow and flourish. A smile steals on your face at the realization of this.

When you reach the school gates and have wished everyone a goodnight and Merry Christmas, you stay back with Kuroo for a few more moments, watching the rest of the team shuffle off.

When they are all out of sight, Kuroo tightens his hold on you and leans down slightly, his lips softly brushing your earlobe as he murmurs: “Ready to head home, _my_ little lamb?”


End file.
